I doubt that when Sgt. Crowley and Prof. Gates have a beer with President Obama on Thursday, it will go down quite like this. But that would be awesome if it did.
By the way, does anyone think Obama really drinks Bud when no one is looking? I’m thinking Mike’s Hard Cranberry Lemonade.
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said two Fridays ago that if Republicans can stop President Obama’s health care reform, “it will be his Waterloo.” That analogy is apt, though not quite in the way DeMint intended.
A defeat on health care reform would be the high water mark of Obama’s presidency, DeMint suggested. That’s not necessarily so. Presidencies can survive colossal early defeats, as Bill Clinton’s did.
The parallell is in the battle itself and the arrogant effort to remake the world according to one leader’s vision. Barack Obama’s effort to take over of the entire health care sector shares similar conceits with Napoleon’s effort to conquer an entire continent.
Going into the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon had the strongest army, and his enemies were fragmented. Obama’s Democratic Party controls Congress and the Republicans are in disarray. However, Napoleon knew, as Obama knows, that speed and surprise would be needed for victory.
Time would remove the element of surprise and give the opposition the chance to consolidate forces.
At Waterloo, Napoleon attacked swiftly in an attempt to divide the allied forces so he could conquer the English and Prussian armies separately.
Obama tried to drive a wedge between Republicans and the health care industry, then set an August deadline so a government takeover of health care could be passed before anyone had a chance to read the details.
Napoleon failed because of poor communication, field commanders who made bad decisions, and the emperor’s inflated assessment of his own abilities. Obama’s plan is failing for the same reasons.
He cannot explain why his plan is necessary, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are botching their commands, and Obama overestimated his own political powers.
Underlying all of this is the foundational arrogance of two impressive leaders who shared a belief that they could and should impose their own order on the world, no matter what the people actually wanted.
If Obama fails, it will be for the same reason Napoleon did: arrogant disdain for all who stand in the way of his agenda.
STEWARD of Prosperity founder Fred Tausch said this morning that he will not seek public office right now, which means he won’t be a contender for Judd Gregg’s U.S. Senate seat.
That leaves the GOP field open for Kelly Ayotte, Ovid Lamontagne, and other as yet unnamed aspirants. I don’t think Tausch would’ve scared anyone out of running, but his presumably immense war chest might would’ve been a considerable obstacle to opponents without big name ID.
Here’s Tausch’s press release:
As I’ve traveled across New Hampshire for STEWARD, it’s become very clear to me that voters are looking for a new kind of bold leadership. Fed up with professional politicians who have stopped listening to them and acting in their best interest, they want to stop the seemingly endless spendathon at the Statehouse and on Capitol Hill.
“Many Republicans have encouraged me to be their voice as a candidate for office next year. It was an honor to be approached and I gave the prospect serious consideration. But after careful deliberation, I’ve decided not to enter public service at this time.
“Thousands of concerned citizens have joined STEWARD to hold the politicians’ feet to the fire. They want to put government back on the side of the people – and I will speak out strongly on their behalf.
“STEWARD will continue to mobilize grassroots support, perform economic impact studies and demand a stop to taxpayer giveaways. We’ll back conservatives who are serious about fiscal discipline, making sure candidates and lawmakers have the resources they need to change business as usual in Concord and Washington. There is a clear need for a strong New Hampshire-based group that is focused on making government live within its means, and STEWARD is going to lead that fight.”
President Obama’s approval ratings are falling across the board. The latest WaPo-ABC News poll has him below 60 percent overall for the first time and below 50 percent on health care.
Similarly, Gov. John Lynch’s ratings have taken a beating since March. He’s down to 51 percent approval rating, Pollster.com shows.
Some of this might have to do with the economy generally. But I think the bulk of the drop for both men can be attributed to the pounding they’ve taken from Republicans for their positions on policy.
Since Republicans ended Obama’s honeymoon by hitting him on the stimulus bill, they’ve been emboldened by his aggressive rush to spend gargantuan amounts of money we don’t have, and they’ve hit him hard on that issue, the huge costs of health care reform, and the false promises of the stimulus bill. The constant criticism has made an impact. As Republicans and conservatives pick apart the details of Obama’s grand plans, the people have seen that the glossy rhetoric doesn’t match the ugly reality. They’re losing confidence in the President.
In New Hampshire, the dynamic is similar. Republicans were afraid to take on Lynch for too long. After Tom Eaton left the Senate, no GOP elected official would hit the governor hard. Former GOP Chairman Fergus Cullen was the only one slapping Lynch for a while, and that wasn’t enough. But current chairman John H. Sununu has made it his mission to grind Lynch’s name into the dirt. He’s been highly critical in ways that only he really could be. That’s emboldened others, and with Lynch’s reversal on same-sex marriage and his passage of 38 tax and fee increases, various Republicans have criticized him just about every day. On top of that, even politically moderate and liberal critics have started whacking him.
Republicans have been able to bring Lynch and Obama back down to ordinary approval ratings by vocally criticizing their decisions as public officials. I think it’s key that gratuitous personal attacks have largely been avoided in favor of policy criticisms.
It just goes to show the power an active opposition party can have against political figures that are personally very attractive. Personal appeal will buy a lot in politics, but it buys a lot less when the governing isn’t consistent with the majority’s wishes and an energetic opposition party points that out.
Salman Rushdie will be the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire Humanities Council’s 20th Annual Dinner on Tuesday, October 13 at the Radisson Center of New Hampshire in Manchester.
What are the odds on whether he’ll get into a bar brawl downtown after the event?
Sonia Sotomayor said at her confirmation hearing today that her mother always taught her that “the key to success in America is a good education.”
Unless your name is Frank Ricci.
NH Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley, after criticizing Sen. Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, for not resigning his Senate seat to run for mayor of Manchester, issues a press release blasting Attorney General Kelly Ayotte for resigning to run for U.S. Senate.
So, one week, Buckley says public servants should resign to run for another office, the next week, he says public servants break a public trust if they resign to run for another office.
Really, does anyone take this guy’s statements seriously at this point?
Attorney General Kelly Ayotte is resigning to run for U.S. Senate.
Here is the press release:
Today, I have submitted my letter of resignation to Governor Lynch effective Friday July 17, 2009. I want to thank the Governor for appointing me as Attorney General. I have had the honor of serving two Governors of different parties and I am grateful to both of them for allowing me to serve. It has been a privilege to serve the people of New Hampshire. I have been honored to work with our dedicated and courageous law enforcement officers to keep New Hampshire a safe place for our families. I have been proud to work with Governor Lynch to improve our criminal laws to protect our children from internet crimes and sexual predators.
Recently, many New Hampshire citizens have urged me to run for United States Senate. I appreciate their confidence in me. After discussing this matter with my husband, Joe, and our family, I have decided to resign as Attorney General in order to explore a campaign for the United States Senate. The Attorney General’s Office has a long tradition as a nonpartisan, independent office. In the five years I have served as Attorney General, I have been deeply committed to maintaining that tradition and the integrity of the Office. I do not intend to discuss my future plans or politics in any detail until such time as I leave the Attorney General’s Office.
During the next two weeks, I will work hard to ensure a smooth transition. I want to express my appreciation to the dedicated men and women who serve at the Attorney General’s Office. They represent the best in public service and it has been my honor to have worked with them.
Supporters of this past legislative session’s transgender rights bill said it just wasn’t fair that critics labeled it the “bathroom bill.” That name came about because it appears that the bill would have allowed, among other things, men to enter women’s restrooms as long as they “expressed” a female gender by donning women’s clothing. Supporters said the bill would simply end “discrimination” against the transgendered, and that it wouldn’t have other, unintended ramifications. They apparently didn’t know about the University of Chicago’s new policy on multi-gender dorm rooms.
This fall, young men and women will be able to room together in University of Chicago dorms. This didn’t start out as a free-love experiment. The change came about when activists said it wasn’t fair that transgendered students had to room with people of their same physical sex. So, because university officials didn’t want to discriminate against the transgendered, they simply erased gender distinctions in 50 dorm rooms. No questions asked, guys and girls will be rooming together.
This is how these kinds of changes work when not very carefully crafted. What is supposed to be a small exception to help a few people ends up changing a culture.
At 3:40 this afternoon, the state Division of Parks and Recreation issued a press release in which DRED Commissioner George Bald announced that he was recalling the draft 10-year strategic plan for Parks and Rec. The release quoted Bald:
“Based on substantial public feedback, I have decided to withdraw the first draft of the Division of Parks and Recreation’s Ten-Year Strategic plan. The Division, in cooperation with the State Park Systems Advisory Council, will present a more comprehensive draft plan that takes into account feedback to date. The public comment period will remain extended until July 27th. A revised draft plan will be available for public comment in August, allowing further public input before the plan is finalized. The state park system is an integral component of what makes New Hampshire special for its residents and visitors. It is critical that we take the time now to be strategic in our thinking to ensure that these wonderful assets are available for our children and grandchildren to enjoy well in to the future.”
Two minutes later, the department issued a statement recalling the recall: “The sender would like to recall the message, “PRESS RELEASE: NH DIVISION OF PARKS AND RECREATION STRATEGIC PLAN PULLED”.
Turns out the first release was a draft that left out language making clear that there was no intention to sell state parks. Bald is recalling the plan, but here is the final version of his statement:
“Based on substantial public feedback, I have decided to withdraw the first draft of the Division of Parks and Recreation’s Ten-Year Strategic plan. There was an impression in this draft plan that a potential strategy would be to divest ourselves of properties. This was never the intent of this methodology. The Division, in cooperation with the State Park Systems Advisory Council, will present a more comprehensive draft plan that makes that clear. The public comment period will remain open until July 27th. A revised draft plan will be available for public comment in August, allowing further public input before the plan is finalized. The state park system is an integral component of what makes New Hampshire special for its residents and visitors. It is critical that we take the time now to be strategic in our thinking to ensure that these wonderful assets are available for our children and grandchildren to enjoy well in to the future.”
Amusing error aside, it’s big news that the department now says it will not, and never intended to, “divest ourselves of properties.”
That statement contradicts the plan, which clearly states that divestment of properties is an option. Here are the plan’s list of alternative management options:
a. Internal transfer to Division of Forests and Lands or another State
agency
b. External transfer to municipality, non-profit, or other organization that
provides public access.
c. Lease or other Management Agreement (partial or whole)
d. Disposal through the Cooperative Land Management Program process
e. Decommission (partial or whole)
f. Sponsorship
g. Partnering & Partnership
h. Public-Private Partnership
i. Concession
j. Land leases / Facility agreements
I’ve been on the MS Mt. Washington’s Halloween cruise. This one sounds a lot scarier.
I have some thoughts on Johnny Depp’s new film, “Public Enemies,” and Depp’s assertions that his character, John Dillinger, was a hero of the people, at TAS today.
